Wilhelm Wundt

Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt born on August 16th, 1832 in the German State of Baden was a philosopher, physician, professor and psychologist, and is considered by many as the “founder of modern psychology” or the “father of experimental psychology”. His contribution to psychology on a whole is noted favourably among modern psychologists; however, his labeling hence contribution to psychology as a science has distinguished him from many other prominent figures in the domain of psychology. He established the first laboratory committed exclusively to psychological research at the University in Leipzig, expanded experimental psychology as an established school of thought, developed the method of introspection which became the basis of the modern scientific method, wrote books and volumes of journals which channelled the spread of experimental psychology, and influenced different schools of thought such as structuralism and voluntarism. These were the major results of his efforts to pursue the study of human behavior in a systematic and scientific manner and his goal to establish psychology as a unique categorical science. Wundt, raised in a suburb called Neckarau, was the son of a Lutheran minister and grew up in an environment in which there were many scholars and intellectuals as both his parents’ families were made up of scholarly individuals such as historians, theologians, physicians and scientists. He therefore had a studious childhood and his education became solely the responsibility of his father’s assistant. His formal education began at the University of Tubingen, however, after staying for just one year he transferred to the University of Heidelberg where he became one of the top medical students in his class, graduated summa cum laude, and placed first in the state medical board examination (B.R. Hergenhahn, 2009). After graduating with his medical degree, he went on to the University of Berlin where he spent a year and after returned to Heidelberg